How to grow nettles at home?

In the temperate climate zone, wild plantings of nettles are found almost everywhere, but they do not always grow in ecologically clean areas. You can also grow a plant on your own plot - we invite you to find out how to do this.

Is it worth growing nettles?

Should you grow nettles? Of course, yes. The idea of ​​introducing a burning plant into culture appeared in ancient times. The "pioneers" in this area were the Egyptians. Over time, the experience was adopted by the inhabitants of Austria, Germany and Russia. So why do you need nettles?

The first valuable property of nettle is its ability to get rid of various ailments - since ancient times, nettle has been used in folk medicine.

Some types of nettle are successfully used as a forage crop for livestock. Also, raw materials are used to obtain yellow and green food colors.

Since ancient times, nettles have been grown for the production of fabrics, and both a rough and durable fabric suitable for sewing sails and armor, and the finest fabric similar to silk are obtained. By the way, today fashion houses have again shown interest in this ancient material - jeans, shirts, dresses, skirts and jackets made of nettles are a success. It is believed that such clothes not only decorate the body, but also heal it, relieving attacks of rheumatism and relieving allergic reactions.

Choosing a site for growing nettles

Nettle, contrary to popular belief, is quite demanding on growing conditions. She prefers fertile and optimally hydrated areas of land. Heavy, sandy, dry or waterlogged soils are unsuitable for growing this crop.

Row crops are considered good predecessors. Sowing of nettles should not be placed on the ground infested with rhizome weeds. Under natural conditions, nettle grows well in shady areas - this should be taken into account when choosing a place for planting a useful plant.

Planting nettles

Nettle is propagated by both seeds and rhizomes. You can grow it through seedlings, but there is no special sense in this. The minimum temperature at which the seeds sprout: + 8 ° С. Seedlings appear in April-May. At first, they grow slowly, but after a couple of months, growth is noticeably accelerating. In a perennial culture, nettles grow back immediately after thawing of the soil (in the second half of April).

Seeds are sown in late autumn or early spring in a wide-row method (row spacing: 60-70 cm). Since the seeds are small, they are sown with ballast (fine sand). The depth of immersion of seeds in the soil: 1-1.5 cm. The sown surface is sprinkled with a layer of peat or humus 0.5 cm thick. The plot is kept moist until shoots appear.

During the growing season, nettle rhizomes give new offspring, which allows the plant to master new soils. When propagated by rhizomes, they are removed from the ground in the spring (before the green mass grows), cut into cuttings (optimal length: 8-10 cm) and planted into the ground to a depth of 8 cm (planting pattern: 60x30 cm).

Nettle care

Nettle care consists in the simplest procedures: weeding, watering and loosening the soil.

Harvesting nettle justifies itself - valuable raw materials will help you maintain health, and, quite possibly, will allow you to replenish your wallet (environmentally friendly raw materials are highly valued).

This medicinal plant is widely used both in cooking and in folk medicine. Nettle is good in salads, and in soups, and in flat cakes, but it is of great value for the health of adults and children. Even Dioscorides and Hippocrates in ancient Greece discovered its healing properties and healed the wounds of their patients with fresh nettle juice. Stinging nettle has a powerful hemostatic, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, choleretic and diuretic effect. It is also useful for lactating women, as it stimulates increased production of breast milk. The plant is a storehouse of useful substances: vitamins, minerals, trace elements. Nettle leaves contain acids important for the human body - ascorbic, pantothenic, as well as salts - sodium, calcium, iron. Few people know, but there is more ascorbic acid in this amazing plant than in black currant, while there is more carotene than in carrots, which is considered the leader in its content. All these amazing qualities make nettle effective for treating various wounds, treating wounds and abscesses, stopping bleeding: renal, uterine, intestinal, pulmonary, nasal. In obstetrics and gynecology, this plant takes pride of place. Thanks to its properties, many lives have been saved. In folk medicine, nettle is also used as an expectorant, anticonvulsant, tonic. Its beneficial effect on the digestive system and metabolism is well known. Stinging nettle can be purchased at the pharmacy. The plant is sold in various forms of release: in dry form, decoctions, infusions, alcoholic tinctures, oils and even tablets (a preparation with nettle from "Secrets of Longevity", the manufacturing company - "Parapharm"). However, you can independently grow or collect nettles in the forests and prepare the most valuable medicines at home.

How to collect nettles

The medicinal raw material is nettle leaves. The main activities for harvesting this plant fall on the period from May to July. Later, most of the nettle leaves, in particular, we are talking about the lower ones, wither. First of all, you need to know what stinging nettle is, which is a perennial weed of the nettle family and has a height of 35-40 cm.After heavy rains and due to other favorable conditions, it can grow up to 150 cm.The stem is straight, tetrahedral, branching at the top ... The leaves are covered with stinging hairs, which leave characteristic red and painful marks on the skin. They contain formic acid. To check whether it is a nettle or not, it is enough to touch it and remember childhood sensations. The leaves are petiolate, lanceolate. Coarse-toothed at the edges. The flowering period runs from June to August.

Collecting nettles is important in ecologically clean places located far from industrial facilities, highways, polluted water bodies, mines. A plant grown in a polluted area will not only fail to bring the desired healing effect, but can also cause new diseases. This burning perennial is widespread throughout the European part of Russia, in Western Siberia, in the Caucasus, excluding the regions of the Far North. Therefore, you can find nettles almost everywhere - the main thing is to look both ways. But we must pay attention to the conditions of its growth. The plant prefers moist and oily soil, shade. You can collect nettles at the edges of the forest, in gardens, found in dense thickets of bushes, along the banks of rivers and lakes. It is easy to find it in deep ravines, in wastelands. Choose only healthy dioecious nettles.To determine its condition, it makes sense to pay attention to its leaves - they should be evenly colored, without any inclusions. You cannot pluck withered sluggish leaves - they will be of little use. Nettle has maximum properties at the stage of active growth (15-20 cm). The best time to cut nettles is overnight and after rain. Herbalists advise harvesting this plant during the new moon period, however, from a scientific point of view, this is a superstition. Use a sharp knife or sickle to cut the nettle. Stems with leaves are able to burn for several hours after that. After this time, you can already cut off the leaves from them and start harvesting.

How to prepare nettles

In order to stop the blood, the nettle must be washed and applied in its raw form to the wound, or better, squeeze out the juice. With this medicine, our soldiers in the hospital stopped bleeding during the Great Patriotic War. Infusions and decoctions are prepared from dried nettle. Dark and dry places are suitable for drying, since the sun's rays negatively affect the qualities of the plant, it becomes ineffective, therefore the best option for such a harvest is dark attics and sheds with good ventilation. Even during artificial drying in special factories, the heating temperature does not exceed 50 ° C. The leaves are laid out in a thin layer (up to 3 cm) and gently mixed several times during the day. Brown or blackened leaves are removed. Yellow plants should also be thrown away. Drying time depends on a number of factors, but in general the nettle is ready after 2 weeks. Properly dried greens should have a dark emerald hue, a bitter taste and a peculiar smell. In dried form, the perennial does not lose its properties for 2 years. In some folk recipes with nettle, the roots of this perennial appear. They are dug up in the fall. Raw materials must be shaken off the ground and rinsed carefully in cold water. You can dry the roots by hanging them from the ceiling in a poorly lit room or in an oven or dryer. The shelf life of nettle roots is 3 years. From the obtained medicinal dried herbs and rhizomes, you can prepare various effective means: infusions, decoctions, etc. You can store leaves and roots in cardboard boxes and paper bags; it is important to keep the material dry. Fresh nettle leaves can be used in cooking. There are many interesting recipes for using them. It is a healthy and tasty product rich in minerals and vitamins. The use of nettle increases the body's resistance to various diseases, especially colds.

How to plant nettles

You can plant and grow nettles yourself for medicinal purposes. So you can follow the entire process of preparation of the drug and be sure of its safety and environmental friendliness. There are two ways to plant nettles. The first is easier - to dig small nettle sprouts in the forest and plant on your site. Finding young plants is not a problem, but if you damage their roots, they will hurt for a long time. The second way is more common - buying seeds in a specialized store or from herbalists. Before planting nettles, it is important to make sure that it is possible to provide the necessary conditions for its cultivation. Despite the fact that stinging nettle is a weedy plant, it is quite difficult to grow it. A perennial needs a well-moistened and fertile soil, or sandy, as in nature. You need to choose a shady area that is not clogged with rhizome weeds. There is no particular point in growing seedlings. Enough seeds. They sprout already at a temperature of + 8 ° C. Sowing nettles should be done in late autumn or early spring. The width between the rows should be about 60-70 cm. Since the seeds are very small, it is recommended to sow them with ballast (fine sand) to a depth of 1-1.5 cm.On top of the sown surface, you can sprinkle a layer of humus or peat (thickness - 0.5 cm). This area should be kept moist until emergence. Nettles usually emerge in April and May. There is a special system for growing nettle rhizomes. In spring, they must be removed from the ground (they can be found next to the mother plant), cut into cuttings 8-10 cm long and planted to a depth of about 8 cm, at a distance of about 60 cm from each other. How to grow nettle At first, the plant looks weak and grows very slowly, but after a couple of months there is a growth spurt - the perennial is noticeably stretched, becomes branchy and lush. Caring for nettle plantings is quite simple. The site must be weeded, watered, loosened. Do not use unnatural fertilizers. Mineral or organic (manure, compost) can be used. And for irrigation, use clean water from a well or spring. By the way, this plant "loves" nitrogen - that is, it successfully absorbs this substance from the soil. Therefore, nettle humus is very good.

Found in the following drugs

• Nettle P
• LEAVES OF NETTLE TWO HOUSE. "Wild plants"

While it's winter outside, it is possible that the time has come to think about changes in the garden and in the garden. In the high season, there is often no time to weigh the pros and cons. In particular, it is worth raising the topic of growing such a useful plant as nettle. This culture is known for its "burning" properties, but besides this it is also known as a plant that is indispensable in cosmetology and medicine. Today we will think about whether it is worth finding a place for nettles on your site.

An irreplaceable but searing culture

Nettle, one of the few plants that can be safely attributed to the category of weeds, but anyone who knows about the merits of this culture will not want to do this. Indeed, nettles grow almost anywhere. It seems to be able to thrive on all types of soil. Nevertheless, it has been appreciated for many thousands of years, because the properties of this plant, without exaggeration, can be called unique.

Nettle has been used for centuries as a medicinal, food and industrial plant. The name of the nettle comes from the Latin word "urere", which means "to burn". Despite all the useful properties, the nettle still had to be named so that it was feared. The Russian name for the plant comes from the word "koprina", which was used to call silk in Russia. Oddly enough, but at one time they learned to get a kind of silk from nettles. Even then, the plant was grown in addition to only collecting. Today, it is worth finding a place for nettles on the site because gardeners simply do not have time to look for a burning plant in the forest, because now in fact it is not found at every step.

Nettle is used in animal husbandry - its crushed stalks are eagerly consumed by various animals. But this plant is more valuable in medicine. Nettle has a varied and effective effect on the vital functions of the body: antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, restorative.

Growing nettles

Despite the stereotype, nettle is actually quite demanding on growing conditions. It grows well on fertile soils. In nature, nettles can be found in shaded thickets among the mass of other plants. In its own garden, seemingly in ideal conditions, the culture simply often refuses to actively grow.

Heavy, waterlogged, dry sandy soils are unsuitable for culture. The best predecessors are row crops. Do not plant nettle crops on land infested with root-sprinkling and rhizomatous weeds. Nettles are sown in spring or late autumn with vegetable or grain seeders in a wide-row method with a row spacing of 60-70 cm.

Since the seeds of the nettle are very small, they must be sown with ballast and with a "lighthouse culture".The seeding depth should be 1-1.5 cm. Seedlings usually appear in 12-15 days. In addition, nettles can be propagated vegetatively and seedlings.

After germination, the culture requires careful maintenance. During this period, the main attention is paid to creating optimal conditions for plant development and weed control. It is better to use herbal nettle for grass flour and green fodder during the budding period, that is, at the beginning of flowering. And for silage, the grass stand is mowed in the phase from the beginning to full flowering. Nettle yield depends primarily on the cutting height. It is believed that the highest yield and growth rate is achieved at a cut height of 8-10 cm.

Nettle is a unique herb that can be very beneficial for its many medicinal properties. Be sure to find at least a small place in the garden to grow nettles, even a small bush can be useful for a useful decoction. It is useful both for cosmetic purposes and as an irreplaceable medicine.

V. Kostenko

The flowering nettle plant (Urtica) is a member of the nettle family. This genus unites more than 50 different species. In the wild, they can be found in temperate regions in both hemispheres. In the middle latitudes, the most common species are stinging nettles (Latin Urtica urens) and dioecious nettles (Latin Urtica dioica), which are also called stinging nettle, stinging stinging nettle or stinging nettle. Plants belonging to these species are very valuable medicinal and food raw materials, and chlorophyll is also extracted from them on an industrial scale, which is widely used in the pharmaceutical and perfume industries.

Features of nettle

A perennial or annual plant such as nettle can be dioecious or monoecious. Solid oppositely positioned sheet plates have a serrated, toothed or three-square-cut edge. On the surface of the leaf blades and shoots, there are often a large number of stinging bristles. The pseudo-spike inflorescences include staminate or pistillate flowers. The fruit is a flat-shaped compressed nutlet that is covered with a perianth.

The structure of the stinging hairs of this plant, which is a rather large cell, is similar to a medical ampoule. Inside them there is juice, formic acid, choline and histamine are present in its composition. If you touch such a hair, then its upper part breaks and sticks into the surface of the skin. The juice trapped under the skin causes a sensation of a sharp burn only in the place that has come into contact with the nettle. As a rule, such burns do not harm human health. However, there are several tropical nettle species, the burns of which can be fatal to humans. On the territory of Russia, nettle prefers to grow near fences, in vegetable gardens, damp meadows, wastelands, forest clearings, near roads, along the banks of reservoirs, in ditches, as well as in ravines. The fact that stinging nettle has healing properties became known to people for a long time, in this regard, such a weed plant is grown both by gardeners and cultivated on an industrial scale.

Growing nettles

Nettle can grow quite normally without much care, but if it is planted in specially prepared and fertilized soil, the growth and development of the bush will noticeably improve. Reproduction of such a plant is carried out by seeds and segments of rhizomes. It is not necessary to prepare seeds before sowing, but if they are stratified for 4 weeks at an air temperature of 0-5 degrees, then their germination will increase by 20-30 percent.

It is recommended to grow stinging nettle, which is perennial, in a well-lit area or in partial shade, the soil should be sandy or nutritious and well moistened. The site must be cleaned of rhizome weeds.Sowing is carried out in early spring or before winter, while the appearance of the first seedlings can occur already at an air temperature of 8 degrees. First, the seeds are mixed with sand, and then they are buried 10-15 mm into the soil, a distance of 0.6 to 0.7 m should be left between the rows. peat, and if the sowing was carried out at the beginning of spring, then until the first seedlings appear, it is necessary to ensure that the soil is slightly moist all the time. If the sowing was carried out before winter, then the first seedlings will appear in April, and if in the spring, then in May.

For the reproduction of nettle in a vegetative way in spring, its rhizome should be removed from the soil, which is cut into pieces, while their length should vary from 8 to 10 centimeters. Then the cuttings are planted in a new place to a depth of 8 centimeters, while a distance of about 0.6 m should be kept between the holes. In nettles multiplied in this way, the beginning of budding is observed 4 weeks earlier than grown from seeds.

Nettle care

The first 2 months, the seedlings will be very weak, while their growth and development will be extremely slow. But then the bushes will begin to grow very quickly, and will soon become thick and branched. There is absolutely nothing complicated in caring for this plant. He should ensure timely watering, loosening, feeding and weeding. For irrigation, it is recommended to use water from a spring, well, or rainwater, while it must first be warmed up in the sun.

Nettle needs a lot of nitrogen, but it is not recommended to use mineral fertilizers for feeding. It is better to replace them with rotted compost or manure.

Caring for this plant is facilitated by the fact that it is highly resistant to pests and diseases. However, caterpillars of urticaria butterflies can still settle on it, they will have to be collected by hand in June. Collecting them is quite easy, because they settle in clusters, but do not forget about safety measures, as nettles can leave severe burns on your hands.

Collecting nettles and storing

Nettle uses rhizomes, seeds and leaf plates as healing raw materials. Stinging nettle foliage is harvested in June – September when the plants are in bloom. Some gardeners are advised to collect leaves by simply wearing gloves, others mow the grass, and when it is completely wilted, tear off the leaf plates with their bare hands. It is believed that it is best to harvest the foliage on Tuesday at dawn in the first quarter of the moon. According to the lunar calendars, such raw materials will have a special healing power.

The collected foliage must be laid out somewhere in a shaded place (in the attic or under a canopy), having previously spread a cloth or paper. Please note that the layer thickness should not exceed 3-5 centimeters. If they are dried in the sun, then some of the healing properties will be lost, and the leaves themselves will become colorless. To dry them, if you wish, you can use the oven, while you should set the temperature to 50 degrees, and leave the door open. In completely dried leaves, the midribs and petioles will break without effort. They will have a mild aroma, dark green color and a slightly bitter taste. It should be noted that the output volume of raw materials will be equal to 1/5 of the original volume. The dried leaves must be sorted out, while it is necessary to remove all yellow, black and brown leaf blades, as well as litter. For storage, they are poured into bags of cloth or paper, which must then be placed in a well-ventilated, dry, dark place. Raw materials can be stored for no more than two years.

Stinging and dioecious nettle seeds should be harvested only after they are fully ripe. As a rule, this happens 20 days after the plant has faded, in September.The tops of the nettle should be trimmed, lightly dried and threshed.

It is recommended to extract the rhizomes of stinging nettle in spring or autumn. All dirt is removed from them, and then they are dried at a temperature of 40 degrees. Choose a dark, dry and well-ventilated place for storage. The rhizomes retain their beneficial qualities for three years. If you are harvesting nettle rhizomes, then keep in mind that 10-15 percent of the bushes will need to be left on the site for renewal, because during the collection of raw materials you have to destroy the entire plant. At the same time, you need to know that it will be possible to re-collect the rhizomes in this area only after 3 years.

Types and varieties of nettles with photos and names

Types of nettles with healing properties:

Stinging nettle

This herbaceous perennial plant has a strong root, while its rhizome is horizontal, branched. The height of the bush varies from 0.6 to 2 m. Burning hairs are located on the surface of all aerial parts of the plant. On elongated shoots, there are straight or ascending hollow stems. Leaves are arranged oppositely in a criss-cross pattern. Dark green simple solid equilateral leaf plates have long petioles. They are about 17 centimeters long and about 8 centimeters wide. Leaves can be ovate-lanceolate, oblong or ovoid-heart-shaped, less often elliptical plates with a deep heart-shaped base are found. The panicle axillary inflorescences are composed of small light yellow unisexual pistillate and staminate flowers. The fruit is a compressed biconvex achene of pale brown or light yellow color. About 22 thousand seeds can ripen on one bush.

Stinging nettle

This annual dioecious herb has grooved tetrahedral erect shoots, the height of which can reach 15–35 centimeters, on their surface there are glandular stiff hairs. Dark green, serrate, oppositely located leaf plates have an oval or ovoid shape, and reach 20–60 mm in length. There are a large number of stinging hairs on their surface. Small axillary flowers are colored green, they are collected in an ear or are single. Such flowers are staminate or pistillate. The fruit is either a nut or a polyspermous box.

Nettle properties: harm and benefit

Healing properties

Nettle leaves contain vitamins A, H, C, E and K, B1, B2, B4, B5, B6, B9, niacin, macronutrients chlorine, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, trace elements copper, barium, aluminum, molybdenum, iron, zinc, selenium and manganese. Lemon contains a couple of times less ascorbic acid than nettle. Moreover, the amount of vitamin A in this plant is slightly higher than in sea buckthorn, carrots, spinach and sorrel. This plant also contains tannins, phytoncides, chlorophyll, flavonoids and organic acids - gallic and formic.

Foliage has a hypoglycemic and hemostatic effect, and it also fights inflammation. Also, the leaves contribute to an increase in hemoglobin levels, uterine tone and the number of red blood cells in the blood. This healing raw material is used to treat diseases of the bladder and liver, anemia, sciatica, pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatism and metabolic disorders in the body. Nettle has also proven to be highly effective in the treatment of non-infectious chronic prostatitis and prostate adenoma.

In alternative medicine, there are recipes for drugs that have a laxative, diuretic, anticonvulsant, wound healing, expectorant and tonic effect. If you use the foliage of this plant systematically, you can quickly get rid of not very large wounds and ulcers, while nettle infusion, used as baths, compresses and lotions, can save hair from loss. Since ancient times, such a plant has been used to treat hair, for this you need to combine 200 ml of freshly boiled water with 2 or 3 large tablespoons of dried foliage, after 1 hour the infusion must be filtered. Nettle tea can be used for the same purpose. To prepare it, you need to combine 1 tbsp.water, 1 large spoonful of dried crushed rhizome and the same amount of dry foliage. The mixture is boiled for 30 minutes, and then cooled slightly. It should be rubbed into the scalp, while washing the hair after that is not necessary, they are only lightly wiped off with a towel.

This plant is also used to create a nutrient mixture, which is recommended for feeding tomatoes. To do this, healthy leaf plates and shoots must be cut off before seeds are formed. Take a large container and fill it with nettles, which are mixed with the rest of the baked goods. As a result, the container should only be ¾ full. Then water is added to the mixture, in which you need to dissolve the yeast, while the intended level cannot be exceeded. The container is placed in a sunny place for 3-5 days, which will allow the mixture to ferment, but do not forget to stir it systematically. It is necessary to feed tomatoes with this mixture 1 time in 7 days.

Nettle soup is very popular. Pour olive oil into a frying pan and stew nettle leaves and white onions in it for 7 minutes. Salt water and boil potatoes in it, from which mashed potatoes are made using a blender. In this case, the container with potatoes is not removed from a small fire and gradually cream, cow's butter and milk are introduced into the puree. At the end, add onions with nettle leaves and mix everything at low speed. You can add grated Gaudi cheese or sour cream to the soup, poured into plates. For 1.5 kg of potato tubers, 0.5 liters of milk, 0.3 liters of cream, 2 small spoons of cow's butter, a bunch of fresh nettles are taken. The rest of the ingredients are added to taste.

Contraindications

You can not use nettle and products made on its basis, pregnant women, especially in the last trimester. Also, it should be abandoned by people suffering from thrombophlebitis.